Bordenkircher v. Hayes
434 U.S. 357 · Decided January 18, 1978 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Bordenkircher v. Hayes was decided on January 18, 1978 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Plea bargaining” in the Criminal Procedure area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 434 U.S. 357 · 98 S. Ct. 663 · 54 L. Ed. 2d 604 · 1978 U.S. LEXIS 56
- Docket number
- 76-1334
- Decided
- January 18, 1978
- Argued
- November 9, 1977
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Plea bargaining
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal provision
- Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Dissent | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority |
Full case caption
Bordenkircher, Penitentiary Superintendent v. Hayes
SCDB identifiers: case 1977-028, docket 1977-028-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Plea bargaining”
- Blackledge v. Allison
- Corbitt v. New Jersey
- Hutto v. Ross
- Henderson v. Morgan
- Blackledge v. Perry
- United States v. Goodwin
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourteenth Amendment (due process)
- Quilloin v. Walcott et Vir
- Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz
- Memphis Light v. Craft
- Kulko v. Superior Court of California in and for the City and County of San Francisco (Horn
- Flagg Bros., Inc. v. Brooks
- Taylor v. Kentucky
Same Term, same area (Criminal Procedure)
- Rinaldi v. United States
- Pennsylvania v. Mimms
- United States v. New York Telephone Co.
- Moore v. Illinois
- Smith v. Digmon
- Arizona v. Washington
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error